Bindings having a plate, mounted on the ski, generally comprise a fixed or releasable front abutment and a rear heel member between which is immobilized a plate, on which the ski boot is retained by retaining means. If the skier falls, there is a safety release between the ski and the plate connected to the boot.
Ski brakes associated with bindings having a plate are already known. Generally, these brakes comprise a spade pivoted on the ski and intended to dig into the snow, this spade being integral with a pedal which is located between the plate and the ski when the ski is fitted. Due to this, when this plate is fitted on the ski, it retains the spade of the ski brake in the inactive, substantially horizontal position. At the time of activation of the safety release, since the plate separates from the ski, the pedal is released and the spade may pass into the active position, under the action of a return spring, in which it projects below the sole of the ski.
A known arrangement of this type has a considerable drawback. In fact, when the boot is placed on the plate, with the ski on the ground, the skier has no means of retaining his ski, especially if the plate is provided at the rear with a "step-in" device making it possible to ensure automatic engagement of the boot on the plate. The ski may thus move when the skier introduces his boot into the binding, which makes fitting of the ski difficult, but above all the ski may escape the skier's control, slide down the slope, injure third parties, break or become lost and this despite the fact that it is provided with a ski brake, since the latter is locked in the inactive position by the plate. If the skier is forced to bend down to hold his ski with his hand at the time of fitting, he loses the advantage of having a "step-in" device and a ski brake, which are precisely intended to prevent this movement.